Christmas Party Food 2010

 Homemade Hummus and Muhammara

 Carnitas Caliente with Chipotle Mayo

 Homemade Tuscan Sausage

 Yakitori with candied ginger and scallion sauce

 Thai Beef Salad

 Homemade Bresaola

Homemade Gravlox with Cream Cheese Dill Spread

Changes to blog..

Our journey into "Charcuterie" is part of a larger exploration into "slow food" or the concept of eating locally grown fresh meat and produce whenever possible. My pasion is peasant cooking from around the world.  Nothing we do here is fancy, just real home cooking from around the world.

It was a combination of James Michlers "Poland" , a great little paperback cookbook "Great Peasant Dishes of the World, and being part for a while in a ethnic group where I learned old world Balkan cooking from old church ladies, that got me started on the path, and now continues with our affinity for all things Italian.

So, in short I am going to start including general cooking thoughts in this journal.

Lamb Prosciutto

I overcured the lamb by 10 days. The recipe I used said 12 days after a second salting and I read 21. Proceeded anyway and hung it yesterday. Should be interesting.

Bresaola done early

The Bresaola was ready after only two weeks at about 55 percent average humidity. Update 12/15..started to develope pinkish mold in fridge after 1 week. Threw out. Was good until then.

Bresaola hung to dry

out of the brine

hung

Tuscan Salami Update

After drying the fridge for a few more weeks this Tuscan Salami is great.  Everyone at Thanksgiving prefered this and our Lonzino by far to any of the deli bought stuff I had!

Lonzino is great!

This was ready for Thanksgiving by surprise. Thought it would need about another week, but it was way ready. Delicious! Our Favorite salumi! Recipe on previous post!

Pancetta is done!

 Pefect! Recipe to follow.

Pastrami for Friday after Thanksgiving

Just coming out of the brine after 3 days in the fridge.

In to the smoker for about 3 hours until it reaches 150 degrees.

Just out of the smoker.

After steaming for 3.5 hours until done. Everybody's favorite!

Recipt to follow!

Bacon is done for Thanksgiving get together

This is the bacon just into the smoker with Pastrami. Smoked for about 3 hours over hickory and cherry until 150 degrees at its thickest part.

This picture is just out of the smoker. The bacon is really really good. Don't think I could buy store bought again. Recipe in earlier post. Very very easy. Everyone at Thanksgiving raved about it.

Italian Sausage

Made 15 lbs. of "North and South" style Italian sausage for our Italian Thanksgiving. Recipe to Follow.

Recipe  I call this "North and South" because it combines flavors common in both northern and southern Italy. This recipe is for a 5 lb batch.

5 lbs. fatty pork butt or 4 lb. pork butt and 1 lb. back fat.
1 1/2 oz. Kosher salt (3 tbsp)
32 grams sugar (2 tbsp)
24 grams minced garlic (1 1/2 tbsp)
2 tbsp fennel seeds lightly toasted and coarse ground
1 tbsp coriander seed lightly toasted and coarse ground
2 t. coarsely ground black pepper
2 tbsp Paprika
3/4 cup ice water
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Dice pork and fat into 1 inch or so cubes. Mix everything up to water with pork. Grind with small die. Mix with water and vinegar. Stuff. Throughout all use basic sausage making rules.

Maple Bacon Started November 16

Started with a whole side of pork cut in half and trimmed square. Covered both all over with about 1/3 of a cup of the following cure. (Basic cure in Charcuterie (Rubelman/Polcyn) Then I add 1/4 cup pure maple syrup per slab and cover for a week, turning daily.

1 lb/450 grams kosher salt
13 oz./425 grams dextrose
3 oz/75 grams pink salt #1 (5 tablespoons)

In one week I drain and rinse, then set in fridge for 1 day to form pelicle. Then smoke for about 3 hours until it reaches about 155 degrees at its thickest part. This stuff is really good.

New Bresaola and Guanciale

11/11 Started Bresaola with Peidmontese Eye of Round Saturday Pics to follow. Round was huge almost 7 lbs from this huge cow. I cut it in half for 2 Bresaola. Hang Thursday the 18th.  Hung Guanciale, done in two to three weeks.

Scrapped Project Coppa

Well today I scrapped the Coppa. The Tied Collagen casing did not work, and the help desk at Sausagemaker.com agreed that it would not. The Coppa shrinks and the casing does not. When I cut into it I was bummed because it looked really good on the inside, but was molding between the casing and the meat in the air pockets. Going to start all over with new recipe.

Pancetta begins hanging.

Pancetta hung to dry November 11, 2011. Will hang for a little over two weeks. Make this all the time!

Tuscan Salami Done

This dried for 3 weeks. Recipe straight out of Charcuterie (Rubleman/Polcyn). I am not crazy about it. It's ok but seems a little fatty. Maybe it needed to dry more. Very flavorful, distinct Fennel and Black pepper.  One question I have on the recipe is the amount of Bactoferm required. It was many times the package recommendation, unless I am ready something wrong.

Lonzino After 2 days of drying

Prosciutto

Been hanging about a week. Starting to develope white mold on surface.

Hot Copa Stuffing to Dry

Ok, ran into trouble here. Charcuterie says to stuff in beef middles which through sausagemaker.com are 2 to 2.5 inches. The book says cut the cubes of pork butt into 3 inch squares. I hoped that meant that the beef middles would stretch. No go. Luckily I think, I had bought 160 85mm Collagen tubes as a back up. Hope they work I thought I was buying 2, not realizing there were 80 in a pack.

Other than that I substituted mild new mexican chili powder for the hot paprika because I had 5 lbs. of it here. Should be ready in a month, December 7 or so.

Lonzino

Here is the Lonzino, my first one, being put into beef bung, tied and hung in the Airstream curing chamber. This is Friday November 5. Should dry about a month.

Guanciale Carbonara

No pics, but last night made a traditional roman style carbonara with Gaunciale that was really good.

6 oz. Gauciale chopped
3 Eggs
1 cup fresh grated Parmasan
Salt, Pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
1 large clove garlic
1 Lb. Spaghetti (I used thick spaghetti)

Bring eggs to romm temperature, place in large bowl and mix with cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Easy on the salt, there is a lot in the other ingredients. Render gaunciale in pan over med/lo until almost crispy. Add garlic clove and continue sauteing until gauanciale is crispy. Do not let garlic burn, remove garlic.

Meanwhile cook pasta per package directions. When done drain and immediately add to egg mixture, pour hot gaunciale with oil on top and quickly mix all together, mixing until a thick sauce is formed. Check for seasoning and serve.

Maple Bacon

This is the other half of this side of the  pork belly. Just covered with basic cure, 1/2 cup maple syrup and into the bag for a week!

Making Pancetta

Starting at the top picture, this is about 5 lbs. of pork belly from the locally grown market hog I recently purchased. Step one of Pancetta is removing the skin. I learned a little trick this time, heating the knife helped the skin slide right off, picture #2. Picture #3 is having spread the cure on it (recipe follows) it is in the bag then into the fridge for 7 days after labeling! I make this Pancetta regularly and it is very good!

Bucantini all' Amatriciana

Here is the recipe..Perfection, I find lots of recipes for this but this one is simple and direct and could not be better.

4 oz or so Guanciale sliced 1/4 inch thick, then cut into 1/2 wide pieces
1 med/large sweet onion chopped
Big pinch crushed red pepper flakes or to taste
1 Large can good quality crushed tomatoes (I like Progresso for this)
Fresh grated Parmasan, Percorino Romano, of choice.

1/2 LB. Bucatini

Over medium low heat render gaunciale until browned but not yet crispy. Remove from pan and remove all but about a tablespoon of the rendered oil in pan. Add onions and red pepper flakes, raise heat to medium and saute until translucent. Add tomatoes, and Gaunciale back to pan. Cook over medium until thickened.
In the meantime cook pasta until done. Add to sauce then plate. Grate cheese over and enjoy!